Iran Says Israeli Missile Strike Killed Senior Adviser

Iranian state media reported that a senior advisor in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Sayyed Razi Mousavi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike near Damascus in Syria on Monday.

According to Reuters, three security sources confirmed Mousavi's death, noting his role in coordinating a military alliance between Iran and Syria.

Iranian leaders accuse Israeli missile strike of killing senior Revolutionary Guards member https://t.co/CRrr6PrN4w

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State television interrupted programming to announce Mousavi's death, describing him as one of the oldest advisors for the Guard in Syria.

The announcement stated that Mousavi had accompanied Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Guards' elite Quds Force, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in Iraq in 2020.

Iran's ambassador to Damascus, Hossein Akbari, told state television that Mousavi, who was at the embassy as a diplomat, was killed by missiles fired by Israel after returning home from work.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi characterized the assassination as a display of Israel's weakness, stating, "This act is a sign of the Zionist regime's frustration and weakness in the region for which it will certainly pay the price."

The Revolutionary Guards echoed these sentiments, asserting that Israel would face consequences for killing the advisor.

Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, mentioned that Iran reserves the right to take necessary measures in response.

Israel's military did not immediately comment on Mousavi's death. Attacks by Israel on Iran-linked targets in Syria have been ongoing for years, with Tehran's influence in the country expanding after supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that began in 2011.

Earlier this month, Iran claimed that Israeli strikes had killed two members of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, who also served as military advisers.

The developments continue to increase tensions in the region as war remains following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took over 240 hostages.